By
Chuck Baldwin
October 1, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
According
to the Army Times (dated Tuesday, September 30, 2008),
"Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT [Brigade
Combat Team] will be under the day-to-day control of U.S.
Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command,
as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade
emergencies and disasters, including terrorist
attacks."
The
article continued by saying, "But this new mission
marks the first time an active unit has been given a
dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command
established in 2002 to provide command and control for
federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense
support of civil authorities.
"After
1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are
that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take
over and that the mission will be a permanent one."
The
Times column also reported that the Army brigade "may
be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control .
. ." It seems that the Army's new domestic duties also
include "traffic control" as well as subduing
"unruly or dangerous individuals."
The
brigade will be known for the next year as a Consequence
Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced "sea-smurf").
I
am assuming that the planners and promoters of this newfound
function for the Army brigade envision the Army assisting
local first responders in dealing with natural emergencies
such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and the like. Good
intentions notwithstanding, to assign domestic police duties
to the
U.S.
military is extremely disturbing.
To
understand my concern for this new "homeland Army
brigade," it is important that we rehearse the
principles of liberty as they relate to standing armies.
One
of
America
's most sacred principles has always been that the
U.S.
military was never to be used for domestic law enforcement.
The fear of standing armies ran very deep in the hearts and
minds of
America
's founders. The tyranny and misery inflicted upon the
colonies by British troops weighed heavily upon those who
drafted our Constitution and Bill of Rights. In their minds,
the American people would never again be subjected to the
heavy weight of army boots. Furthermore, they insisted that
America
would have a civilian--not military--government.
And
after the fiasco of the abuse of federal troops in the South
following the War Between the States, the doctrine of Posse
Comitatus was enacted into law. The Wikipedia online
encyclopedia says this about Posse Comitatus:
"The
Act prohibits most members of the federal uniformed services
... from exercising nominally state law enforcement police
or peace officer powers that maintain 'law and order' on
non-federal property. . . .
"The
statute generally prohibits federal military personnel and
units of the United States National Guard under federal
authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within
the
United States
, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or
Congress. . . .
"The
Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act substantially
limit the powers of the federal government to use the
military for law enforcement."
The
Posse Comitatus Act was passed in 1878 and was universally
accepted as being a very just--and extremely important--law
of the land.
But
in 2006, President George W. Bush pushed a
Republican-controlled Congress to pass the John Warner
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007,
which included a section titled "Use of the Armed
Forces in major public emergencies." This section
provided that "The President may employ the armed
forces to restore public order in any State of the
United States
the President determines...." In effect, this bill
obliterated Posse Comitatus.
When
the Democrat-controlled Congress passed the 2008 National
Defense Authorization Act, however, the restrictions of
Posse Comitatus were restored. But when President Bush
signed the Act into law, he attached a signing statement
(Executive Order) indicating that the Executive Branch did
not feel bound by the changes enacted by the repeal.
Translated: President Bush wiped out Posse Comitatus by
Executive Order.
Now,
just a few months after expunging Posse Comitatus, President
Bush has authorized an Army brigade to be assigned the new
role of dealing exclusively with domestic law enforcement
and related duties. This evokes serious questions.
Who
will give the order to send
U.S.
troops against American civilians, and under what
circumstances? What will the rules of engagement be? How
will "unruly" and "dangerous" be
defined? How will soldiers be asked to deal with
"crowd" or "traffic" control? And
perhaps the biggest question is, Once we begin to go down
this road, where will it lead?
For
several years, the federal government has been accumulating
to itself more and more authority that was historically
understood to reside within the states and local
communities. More and more, our police departments have
taken on the image and tactics of the armed forces. And to a
greater and greater degree, the rights and liberties of the
American people are being sacrificed on the altar of
"national security." It seems to me that to now
ascribe law enforcement duties to the U.S. Army only serves
to augment the argument that
America
is fast approaching police state status.
If
Hurricane Katrina is the template that our federal
government is using as a model for future events, Heaven
help us! Do readers remember how National Guard troops were
used to confiscate the personal firearms of isolated and
vulnerable civilians shortly after that hurricane devastated
the
New Orleans
area? Do you remember how representatives of the federal
government were calling upon pastors and ministers to act as
spokesmen for gun confiscation? Is this what the new Army
brigade is preparing for? And do President Bush and his
military planners envision an even broader role for military
troops on American soil?
Add
to the above rumors of thousands of plastic caskets--along
with thousands of portable prison cells--being shipped and
stored across the country, and one is left to ask, Exactly
what is it that our federal government is planning?
I
think there is an even bigger question, What exactly will
members of our armed forces do if and when they are
commanded to seize Americans' firearms, arrest them at gun
point, or even fire upon them? How many soldiers and Marines
love liberty and constitutional government enough to resist
such orders, should they be given? And how many officers
would resist issuing such orders?
Remember,
it is the job of the armed forces to kill people and blow up
things, not to do police work. Then again, Presidential
administrations from both major parties have been using the
U.S.
military as U.N. "peacekeepers" for decades now.
So, was all of this preparation for what is yet to take
place in the
United States
?
God
forbid that any of the above should actually take place in
our beloved land, but I believe it would be naïve to not
see that the actions and attitudes of the federal government
over the past several years do nothing to assuage such
fears.
*If
you enjoyed this column and want to help me distribute these
editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations
may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use
this link.
*Disclaimer:
I am currently a candidate for President of the
United States
on the Constitution Party ticket. Click here
for my official campaign web site.
Chuck
Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in
Pensacola,
Florida
. In 1985 the church was recognized by President Ronald
Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.
Dr.
Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting syndicated
radio talk show on the Genesis Communications Network
called, "Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one
hour long call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses
current event topics from a conservative Christian point of
view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly articles on the internet
http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and newspapers.
To
learn more about his radio talk show please visit his web
site at: www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.
When responding, please include your name, city and state.
